A few Flagstaff children are among the voice cast bringing "Finding Nemo" to a Navajo-speaking audience.
For only the second time, a major motion picture has been dubbed in the Navajo language.
This version of "Finding Nemo" opened Friday in select theaters on the Navajo Nation.
Disney and Pixar officials say they chose the animated fish tale because there are only animal characters and few songs.
The movie follows the journey of Marlin, a clown fish, as he searches for his son, Nemo.
The children's parents tell the Arizona Daily Sun they believe the translation will help keep the Navajo language alive.
Catherine Esquivel's 6-year-old son Mariano Esquivel voiced a baby turtle in the movie.
"I don't know that he understands now how huge this is for the Navajo people, to have Disney play a part in retaining our language," she said. "When he's older he will think, 'Wow, this was a great time in my life.'"
"Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" became the first Hollywood feature translated in Navajo in 2013.
That movie is also owned by Disney.
"I love the fact that Navajo has such a place in our history, with the Code Talkers in World War II," said senior vice president of Disney character voices Rick Dempsey. "If we want to work to preserve a language, this is a great one."
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More